Four
by Blodigealach
Summary: There was something important Thomas felt that he had to remember, but the more he tried the more it slipped away from his memories. Implied IVRyo. Contains spoiler for episode 124.


Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal  
Pairing: Implied IVRyo  
Warning: Contains spoiler for Episode 124

* * *

Thomas stared awfully long into the mirror that morning. He particularly stared at the scar he had for quite a long time. For some reasons, he felt that there was something behind that scar—something that he couldn't seem to remember.

"Michael," he called for his little brother, "Do you remember how I got this scar?" He walked to the younger male and pointed at his scar. Michael, who was in the middle of preparing the table for breakfast, stopped and stared for a while. Thomas waited anxiously for the answer. They often went around together, especially when Thomas went out for duel. Michael was usually there to make sure that his dear brother didn't do anything overboard. His little brother surely was there too when he got that scar.

"No idea. If I remember it right, it was when you went out for duel without my company. You did that sometimes," answered Michael as he returned to his current task. Thomas clicked his tongue.

"You sure you weren't there? Because, you know, you tailed me anywhere especially when I dueled," asked Thomas again. Michael shook his head.

"I don't think I were there. I've told you, sometimes you went alone," replied Michael. Thomas rolled his eyes, unsatisfied with the answer.

"Fine. I'll ask Chris; he might remember something that you don't," said Thomas as he turned on his heels and walked to the library. He easily found the older male sitting on the couch, reading yet another difficult-looking book. Thomas walked closer and took a seat beside Chris.

"Hey, Chris, do you remember how I got this scar?" asked Thomas as he pointed the scar on his face. Chris looked away from his book to observe the said scar, trying to remember anything about it.

"As far as I remember, you got it from a duel. You dueled someone, and suddenly there was an accident, and you got that scar. I remember picking you up from the hospital and paying the hospital fees," replied Chris. Hearing that explanation, Thomas felt that he could probably ease up the uneasiness that he felt since he woke up that morning.

"Do you remember whom I dueled with?" asked Thomas. Chris shrugged and shook his head slowly.

"How should I know? You're the one who dueled her; you should know better about it," replied Chris. Thomas pouted at the reply, but then he processed every word and realized something in Chris' words.

"You said 'her'. You said you don't know but you refer to the duelist as 'her'. How do you know it's a woman who dueled me? Chris, did you hide something from me?" asked Thomas. When Thomas pointed that out, Chris also had just realized what he said before. He couldn't even explain it himself.

"It's just a hunch. In the back of my mind I know that you were dueling a girl. Maybe you told me at some point; I don't know. I can't seem to remember anything else," replied Chris. Thomas could see how Chris was just as confused as he was, so he had no other choice but to believe him.

"Fine, I'll ask dad. He probably knows better," said Thomas as he stood up again. Chris closed his book and looked at his younger brother with a concerned look.

"Thomas, did you forget?" asked Chris. Thomas looked at him with an annoyed look, but Chris seemed so serious that he swallowed down the sarcastic tone he was about to use.

"What was it, Chris?" he asked politely. The older male didn't say a word in return. He simply turned his head to a shelf on his right side. Thomas followed his sight and found where Chris kept their family portraits.

There were portraits when they were small, smiling with their father. There was also a portrait of their father along with Faker and Kazuma. A portrait of himself with only Michael was also there, along with a portrait of Chris with Kaito and Haruto. The portrait when he was elected as Asian Duel Champion was also there, but he was only with Chris and Michael.

Suddenly it hit Thomas like a wave. His father—their father—had long gone along with Kazuma. They were declared to be missing while traveling for some research. Yet for another unthinkable reasons, he felt as if Byron was still with them.

"Are you okay, Thomas? Do I need to call a doctor?" asked Chris as he put away his book to the nearest table and rose from his seat. Thomas shook his head repeatedly. For some other reasons, the name 'Thomas' felt odd to his ears.

"I'm fine. I'm just—I think I need to get more sleep," replied Thomas as he hurried back to his room. He ignored Chris' calling and Michael's asking what he wanted for breakfast. He just walked straight to his room, locked it up, and sat on his bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, entwining the fingers together and let his forehead to rest there.

Everything felt out of place for him. Why did he feel that their father was still there with them? Why did his own name sound odd to his ears? Since when did he start living together with his brothers again? What happened to World Duel Carnival? Who was his opponent when he won the title of Asian Duel Champion? Where did his scar come from? How did he know that it was from a duel? How did Chris know that his opponent was a female? Why did he feel that there was something he has to remember? Why couldn't he remember it?

He slowly raised his head and his sight was automatically fixed on his desk. His deck was sitting tidily on it, along with a box filled with unused cards. He unconsciously walked to that desk and sat in front of it. He flipped his deck and scattered the cards, staring blankly at them as he spread them apart.

All suddenly his sight fell on a card—a trap card, Mirror Force. He took it and stared long to it, as if waiting for something to show up. Minutes passed, and nothing happened. Disappointed, Thomas returned the card into his deck and tidied it back. He let out a long sigh and decided that he might need fresh air. He also told himself to ask if Chris helped Michael to cook dinner the night before. The longhaired man couldn't even tell salt and sugar apart; he probably put some poisonous mushroom or something to the dinner that caused Thomas to have those weird 'memories'.

He took his coat and stepped outside the house, declining Michael's offer for breakfast. "I don't need it," he said as he threw a dirty look to Chris before slamming the door closed. Chris looked at Michael, silently asking if his little brother knew anything, but Michael just shrugged and tilted his head in confusion. They simply agreed that maybe there was something wrong in the snack Thomas ate the night before.

Thomas walked down the streets, feeling more and more uneasy as he let his feet brought him just anywhere. Before he realized it, he already arrived near the only academy in that city. His common sense took over and the thought that he should just go somewhere else. It wasn't like he missed school or anything. Moreover, he had absolutely no reason to go there.

As he decided to take a turnaround, he caught a glimpse of a student in green uniform. He darted his sight to that student. Something at the back of his mind told him that it meant something to him. But as he found the brown-haired student, somehow he felt disappointed. Again, something at the back of his mind told him that it's not what he's looking for.

Sighing, Thomas turned around again and left that academy in hurry. He felt far more irritated than before.

He wandered around the city again, letting his instinct guided him through the alleys and mid-constructed buildings. Yet the more he walked, the more he felt that there really was _something_ missing. Deciding that following his instinct was not a good idea after all; he eventually chose to go to the aquarium. He remembered Chris saying something about fishes and water could give calming effect or something, and he's going to believe it just this once.

The aquarium was massive. Just standing there already made Thomas felt as if he were really walking underwater. He had to admit that his older brother was right. It was calming there. He took his time to admire the colorful tropical fishes, sighing in awe at the school of silvery fishes, and shooting dirty look at the jellyfishes. For some reasons, he disliked them.

Finally he arrived at the biggest aquarium where various sea creatures were placed. There was a tunnel where he could enjoy the wonder of the sea, and he took that chance without even thinking twice. Everything was even more breathtaking inside the tunnel. He could see the fishes swimming not just at his sides but also over him. He smiled brightly like a child in Christmas night. At that point, he had already forgotten all the uneasiness he felt before.

After a long while, Thomas reached the end of the tunnel. He could still feel his heart beating in excitement from what he saw inside that tunnel. Maybe sometimes he should bring his brothers there as well, he thought. He was much better already until he took a turn to see more of the aquariums.

As his sight fell on the aquarium in front of him, his smile dropped. He felt as if his heart dropped all the way to the pit of his stomach, making him feeling really sick. He covered his mouth with his hand to prevent him from puking at the spot. He didn't know what it was, but all the feeling that there was _something_ he missed crashed his mind in full force.

"Brother, look, look! This fish looks like my monster!" shouted a little kid cheerfully as he ran passed Thomas with a card on his hand. Thomas took a peek and saw what card that kid was holding. It was a monster card.

It was a shark-looking monster card.

Thomas felt even sicker. Somehow, he could feel it. Someplace, sometime, he was dueling someone who used shark-looking monsters. That duelist used to mean something to him. And yet, although he understood that the said duelist was important for him, he couldn't seem to remember him.

He raised his head slowly, mustering all the strength he had left just to take a glance at the shark aquarium in front of him. And there he was, with the deep blue eyes like the deep ocean that could swallow him whole. The boy stood inside the aquarium, with sharks swimming around him, yet he didn't seem to care about his surroundings. He just stood there, with his purple hair that didn't seem to be affected with the water's force, as if he was just a fragment of Thomas' insanity.

The boy opened his mouth, saying something that Thomas couldn't hear, but he swore that it was his name although he was also sure that it wasn't 'Thomas'. He also opened his mouth, wanting to call that boy's name, but no avail. His voice didn't come out. The name he wanted to shout was gone before he could recall it.

Thomas stood still, choking in his own unspeakable word. The boy closed his eyes slowly, and that moment Thomas just knew that it was his last chance to say that boy's name. He just knew that if he failed to do so, that boy would disappear forever, and this time for real. He tried to remember as hard as he could, but the harder he tried the more he failed to remember.

The boy turned around slowly, as if he was ready to leave. Thomas couldn't let that happen. He didn't want to lose him _again_. "WAIT!" shouted Thomas. That boy stopped, waiting for whatever Thomas wanted to say.

"Ry—"

He couldn't finish the word. He couldn't remember what comes after that. Thomas felt his eyes were burning, and he blinked to ease out the sensation. But as he looked at the aquarium again, that boy was nowhere to be found. Other visitors stared at him as if he was a lunatic—as if he had been talking all to himself. But it didn't matter for him. What mattered was that the boy was gone and he knew that he couldn't bring him back anymore.

As he realized that, he felt as if his heart was crushed to nothingness. Tears flowing down his cheeks, and he felt that he couldn't breath. It was as if he drowned into the bottomless ocean. Everything felt hurt and his whole being was crushed.

And then, all that left was darkness.

When Thomas opened his eyes again, he was lying on hospital bed. He slowly turned his head to his side and found Chris sitting beside his bed. Realizing that his brother had regained consciousness, Chris took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

"Like just waking up from a very bad dream," replied Thomas weakly. He felt like all the energy he had was drained away.

"What happened in that aquarium?" asked Chris again. Thomas stared blankly at the ceiling; unable to recall anything that happened before he woke up.

"I… can't remember," replied Thomas slowly. Chris nodded knowingly, not wanting to pry anything more from his dear brother. He gave a squeeze to Thomas' hand again and patted his head gently.

"You should take more rest," he said. Thomas managed to nod a little before falling into slumber again. Chris waited until he's sure that Thomas wouldn't wake up anytime soon before he slowly released his hand and tucked it under the blanket. He gave one final glance before he left the room, going back to their house.

As he drifted deeper into his slumber, all that Thomas could feel was the warm vast ocean. And the next time he woke up, he wouldn't even remember a thing about the phantom he saw in the aquarium calling for the name he had long forgotten.


End file.
